NHD is a non-profit organization based in College Park, which seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history. The National History Day Contest was established in 1974 and currently engages more than half a million students in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. Students present their research as a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Projects compete first at the local and affiliate levels, where the top entries are invited to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park.
Each of the four projects below took first-place honors at the state contest held in late April and went on to represent Indiana at the national competition. Lakeview Middle School produced three state finalist projects coached by teacher-librarian Molly Long. WCHS produced one state finalist project coached by teacher Mandy Bailey. All first-place and second-place state finishers in each junior and senior category were eligible to compete in the National Contest for National History Day.
The following students competed at the national level remotely with their projects:
-
Amelia Alexander and Margaret Burkholder, Junior Group Exhibit, “Desmond Doss Breaks Barriers as a Conscientious Objector.” Mia and Maggie finished in the top 30.
-
Raquel Brouwer, Junior Individual Documentary, “Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Breaking Barriers Through Law.” El was number 4 in her category.
-
Grace Ganser, Junior Individual Website, ”The Clinton 12: Breaking the Barriers of School Segregation.” Grace placed 7th for this category.
-
Ethan Betances, Jason Benyousky, Keller Bailey, and Ryun Hoffert, Senior Group Performance, “Werner Von Braun and Sergei Korolev: Breaking the Starry Barrier of Space.” Ethan, Jason, Keller, and Ryun placed in the top 50 in their category.
Congratulations to Raquel Brouwer who won the Indiana Affiliate Award for Junior Division at the 2020 National NHD Contest.
Warsaw Community Schools would like to thank all teachers, coaches, judges, parents, and students who persevered through unprecedented circumstances to engage in a challenging learning experience with NHD. During the 2020-2021 academic year, National History Day students will explore topics relating to the theme Communication in History: The Key to Understanding. This theme asks students to consider how people exchange information and interact with each other. WCS looks forward to beginning a new journey in August with future WCS student historians!
